Method and apparatus for displaying and managing inherited values

ABSTRACT

A method, system, and article of manufacture that help system administrators visualize the relationship between a global setting and the setting in each instance. One embodiment of the present invention comprises receiving a selection of a setting, determining an inheritance state for the selected setting, and displaying a graphical indication of the inheritance state of the selected setting. In some embodiments, the method further comprises displaying a graphical indication of the inheritance relationship between the selected setting and at least one related setting. The method may also include receiving a change inheritance relationship command, and changing the inheritance relationship for the selected setting.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This invention generally relates to system management systems andmethods. More particularly, the present invention relates to a methodand apparatus managing inherited settings.

BACKGROUND

The latter half of the twentieth century has been witness to aphenomenon known as the information revolution. While the informationrevolution is a historical development broader in scope than any oneevent or machine, one of its hallmarks has been the decreasing cost andincreasing functionality of information technology (“IT”). This trend,in turn, has driven tremendous increases in productivity as productdesigns, manufacturing processes, resource scheduling, administrativechores, and many other tasks, are made more efficient. Today, as aresult of this trend, virtually every organization relies heavily oninformation technology.

Many organizations have discovered that the total cost of informationtechnology is not limited to the cost of the hardware and software usedto perform its operations; it also includes the cost of human resourcesdevoted to maintain and configure the IT systems. One particular problemfaced by many of the administrators of these systems (“ITadministrators”) is that many of today's IT applications, such as webserver programs, eCommerce application programs, virtual desktopprograms, and server-based application programs, are designed to createmultiple copies (“instances”) of themselves, with each copy handling aspecific task. These instances can all run on the same computer, or maybe spread across multiple computers. Although this technique has manyadvantages, one problem is that each instance of the program must bemaintained and properly configured.

One common method of managing of multiple instances of an applicationprogram is to create a file containing a global set of configurationchoices (“settings”). New instances of an application can then copy(“inherit”) their configuration settings from the so-called globalconfiguration file. As a result of this technique, when an ITadministrator changes a global setting, all new instances willautomatically use the new value. One problem with this technique,however, is that IT administrators frequently need to override theglobal settings for a particular instance because that particularinstance is used in a slightly different way. Another problem is that ITadministrators may need to manage the settings of existing instances,rather than just the new instances. Those skilled in the art willappreciate that manually changing settings on a field-by-field basisacross many instances of an application is a time consuming task evenunder the best circumstances.

One partial solution to this problem is to create multiple configurationfiles containing settings for the most common situations and uses. Thistechnique, however, creates its own set of problems. For example, the ITadministrator now needs to track what each configuration file does andwhich configuration file each instance uses. To further complicatematters, when an instance of an application is started, certain valuescan and should be overridden at run-time. When this occurs, the‘override’ settings do not show up in any configuration file. As aresult, IT administrators frequently cannot see from which configurationfile a particular instance is inheriting when looking at that instance,or even see that a particular setting is inherited at all withoutperforming a detailed and time-consuming investigation. Thesecomplications frequently force IT administrators to waste hours tryingto determine where a configuration problem originates. As the Linux™operating system and policy-based applications, such as eXtensibleMarkup Language (“XML”) driven applications, become more popular, theseproblems will only increase in frequency.

Without a way to help IT administrators manage multiple instances ofapplications, the promise of the information revolution may never befully achieved.

SUMMARY

The present invention provides a method, system, and article ofmanufacture that help system administrators visualize the relationshipbetween a global setting and the setting in each instance. One aspect ofthe present invention is a method for managing settings in a computersystem. One embodiment of this method comprises receiving a selection ofa setting, determining an inheritance state for the selected setting,and displaying a graphical indication of the inheritance state of theselected setting. In some embodiments, the method further comprisesdisplaying a graphical indication of the inheritance relationshipbetween the selected setting and at least one related setting. Themethod may also include receiving a change inheritance relationshipcommand, and changing the inheritance relationship for the selectedsetting.

Another aspect of the present invention is an inheritance manager for anIT system. One embodiment of the inheritance manager comprises a controlwidget associated with a selected setting, the control widget comprisingan inheritance state indication and a current value for the selectedsetting, and an inheritance relationship indicator that indicates theinheritance relationship between the selected setting and at least oneother setting. Some embodiments by further comprise a property widgetassociated with the at least one other setting, wherein the relativepositions of the control widget and the property widget indicate aninheritance relationship between the selected setting and the at leastone other setting. The control widget in some embodiments displays thecurrent value using a control type used by a managed application todisplay the selected setting.

Other aspects of the present invention include a computer programproduct and a method for managing instances of an application in an ITsystem. One embodiment of the computer program product comprises aprogram configured to perform a method for managing settings in acomputer system, and a signal bearing media bearing the program. Themethod for managing settings in this embodiment comprises receiving asetting selection, determining an inheritance state for the selectedsetting, and displaying a graphical indication of the inheritance stateof the selected setting. One embodiment of the method for managinginstances of an application in an IT system comprises launching aninheritance manager, selecting the control widget associated with adesired setting for an instance of the application, modifying thecurrent value for the desired setting, and modifying the inheritancestate for the desired setting. The inheritance manager in thisembodiment comprises a control widget associated with a selected settingfor one instance of an application, the control widget comprising aninheritance state indicator and a current value indicator, and aninheritance relationship indicator that indicates the inheritancerelationship between the selected setting and at least one othersetting;

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates one embodiment of an IT system.

FIGS. 2 a-2 e illustrate several display widget embodiments.

FIGS. 3 a-3 d illustrate one embodiment of an inheritance manager.

FIG. 4 illustrates one method of visually tagging a setting usingconfiguration manager embodiment in FIGS. 3 a-3 d.

FIG. 5 illustrates one method of managing the inheritance of a settingusing the configuration manager embodiment in FIGS. 1-3.

FIG. 6 illustrates one method of modifying a setting within theinheritance manager embodiment in FIGS. 1-3.

FIGS. 7 a-7 c illustrate three methods of modifying inheritance usingthe configuration manager embodiment in FIGS. 1-3.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 shows one embodiment an IT management system 100 comprising amanagement computer system 102 a and a plurality of computer systems 102b-102 n (only one shown in detail for clarity) that are managed by themanagement computer system 102 a. Each computer system 102 has one ormore central processing units 110 (“CPU”) connected to a main memory112, a mass storage interface 114, a display interface 115, a networkinterface 116, and an input/output (“I/O”) interface 118 by a system bus122. The mass storage interfaces 114 in the computer systems 102 connectthe system busses 122 to one or more mass storage devices, such as adirect access storage device 140 and a readable and a writable opticaldisk drive 141. The network interfaces 116 allow the computer systems102 to communicate with each other and to a plurality of other computers(not shown) over an appropriate communications medium 106. The mainmemory 112 a in the management computer system 102 a contains anoperating system 124 a and a configuration manager 132. Theconfiguration manager 132, in turn, is capable of generating a pluralityof control widgets 134 and an inheritance manager 136 in conjunctionwith the operating system 124 a. The main memory 112 b-112 n in themanaged computer systems 102 b-102 n contains an operating system 124 band one or more application program instances 126, such as web serverapplication program, an eCommerce application program, a virtual desktopprogram, or the like, each of which has a plurality of associatedsettings 128.

In operation, each setting 128 of each application program instance 126is uniquely associated with a control widget 134. The control widgets134 provide the user of the management computer system 102 a (typicallythe IT administrator) with a graphical summary of its setting's 128current value and its inheritance status (e.g., currently inheriting,currently being inherited, etc). The inheritance manager 136, in turn,provides the user with a graphical indication of exactly how the eachsetting 128 interacts with other settings 128, and provides an interfacethat will allow the IT administrator to easily change each setting's 128current value, inheritance properties, and inheritance interactions.That is, the inheritance manager 136 provides a graphical display thatallows the IT administrator to manage inheritance relationships on asetting-by-setting basis. In some embodiments, the inheritance manager136 will also show all related, but non-inheriting, settings 128. Thisfeature is desirable because, by selecting a particular setting 128′,the IT administrator can see those settings 128 that have an inheritancerelationship with the selected setting 128′ as well as any otherlogically-related settings 128 that do not currently have an inheritancerelationship with the selected setting 128′.

FIGS. 2 a-2 e illustrates several control widgets 134 in accordance withone embodiment of the present invention. In general, the control widgets134 may be any programmatic device that, alone or in combination withother programmatic devices, can receive and respond to input from a userinput device, indicate the setting's current value and inheritanceproperties, and communicate with other applications (possibly anotherwidget) by means of a call, for example. Each control widget 134 in thisembodiment comprises a current value widget 202 and a graphicalinheritance indicator 204. The current value widget 202 displays orgraphically indicates the current value of the selected setting 128.Suitable control types (e.g., a table, radio button group, check box,etc.) include, without limitation, the control type typically used bythe managed application 126 to control that particular type of setting128, a control type common to the inheritance manager 136 or to theoperating system 124, or another user-selected control type.

The inheritance indicator icon 204 graphically indicates the setting'scurrent inheritance properties. The inheritance icon 204 in thisembodiment comprises a superposition of two graphical elements. Onegraphical element, best shown in FIGS. 2 a-2 b, indicates: (i) that theassociated setting 128′ can inherit or be inherited (as shown in FIG. 2a); or (ii) that the associated setting 128′ can neither inherit nor beinherited (as shown in FIG. 2 b). The other graphical element, bestshown in FIGS. 2 c-2 e, indicates: (i) that the associated setting 128′is currently inheriting from another application program instance 126 orconfiguration file (as shown in FIG. 2 c); (ii) that another applicationprogram instance 126 is currently inheriting from the associated setting128′ (as shown in FIG. 2 d); or (v) that the associated setting 128′ isboth inheriting from another application program instance 126 orconfiguration file, and is being inherited by another applicationprogram instance 126 (as shown in FIG. 2 e). Those skilled in the artwill appreciate that the particular graphical elements used by theinheritance manager 136 in FIGS. 2 a-2 e are merely illustrative, andthat other graphical elements are within the scope of the presentinvention.

When a user selects one of the control widgets 134, for example bydouble-clicking, the configuration manager 132 causes the managementcomputer 102 a to display the inheritance manager 136. FIG. 3 a-3 cillustrate one embodiment of the inheritance manager 136. As best shownin FIG. 3 a, the currently selected control widget 134′ (i.e., thecontrol widget 134 associated with the setting 128′ in which the user isinterested) is shown in the middle of an inheritance manager displaypane 302. The control widget 124 in this embodiment uses the controltype (e.g., a table, radio button group, check box, etc . . . ) normallyused by the associated application program 126 to display that setting128′, which is desirable because it provides the user with a uniform wayto interact with that particular variable. Surrounding the currentlyselected control widget 134′ are a plurality of related property widgets304, each of which is associated with their own control widgets 134(which, in turn, are associated with their own settings 128). Theinheritance manager 132 in this embodiment displays ‘above’ thecurrently selected display widget 134′ those property widgets 304 aassociated with settings 128 from which the currently selected setting128′ is inheriting. The inheritance manager 302 displays ‘below’ thecurrently selected widget 134′ those the property widgets 304 bassociated with settings 128 that can inherit from the currentlyselected setting 128′; and displays to the ‘left’ and ‘right’ of thecurrently selected widget 134′ those property widgets 304 c that caninherit (but are not currently inheriting) from the same settings as thecurrently selected setting 128′. Also shown in FIG. 3 are one or moreinheritance indicators 306, such as a line or arrow, that connect eachwidget 134, 304 with any other widget 134, 304 that currently inheritsits setting 128.

As best shown in FIG. 3 b, when an user selects one of the propertywidgets 304, the inheritance manager 132 replaces the selected propertywidget 304 with its associated control widget 134, complete with itsassociated current value widget 202 and inheritance indicator icon 204,and reduces the old currently display widget 134 into a property widget304. As best shown in FIG. 3 c, the user can then change the inheritancerelationship of the newly selected display widget 134′ by selecting anddragging the appropriate inheritance line 306 so that it interconnectsthe appropriate widgets 134, 304.

As best shown in FIG. 3 d, the user can delete an inheritancerelationship in this embodiment by ‘right clicking’ the appropriateinheritance indicator 306′, which causes the inheritance manager 136 todisplay a context-sensitive pop-up menu. The user can then select“delete” from the context-sensitive pop-up menu, which causes theconfiguration manager 132 to eliminate the inheritance relationshipsbetween the two settings 128 that were previously connected by theselected inheritance connector 306′. Users can also delete inheritancerelationships in this embodiment by selecting and dragging aninheritance indicator 306′ away from a property widget 304. Thus, asbest shown in FIG. 3 c, as the inheritance indicator 306′ is draggedfrom Server2 to Server3, the “security level” setting for Server2automatically changes to “10” (the default setting).

With continuing reference in FIG. 3 d, if a user changes the setting 128in one of the control widgets, e.g., 304 b, the configuration manager132 automatically breaks the inheritance relationship with the selecteddisplay widget 134 because the settings 128 now differ. The inheritanceindicators 306 are then immediately and automatically updated by theinheritance manager 136. These embodiments also immediately andautomatically update all instances 126 of the application that inheritfrom that changed setting 128, and highlight the associated widgets 134,304 to indicate that they recently changed. These embodiments aredesirable because they provide the user with instant feedback about whattheir actions accomplished. In a highly functional user interfaceembodiments, the inheritance indicators 306 could be also be animated toreflect the changes are being propagated to each instance 126.

The user in this embodiment can select multiple control widgets 304 andthen change the inheritance relationships for all of the items in thegroup. One suitable method to add inheritance to all of the selecteditems is to hold the “control” key while selecting the desired propertywidgets 304, followed by right-clicking on one of the selected widgets304 and by selecting “Inherit” from the resulting pop-up context menu.The IT administrator can also use this procedure to remove inheritancerelationships from a group of widgets 304.

When the IT administrator is finished managing the inheritance of asetting 128′, he can then click “OK” from an appropriate menu. Theinheritance manager 136 will then close, and the configuration manager132 will then apply the changes will be applied across all the affectedinstances 126 and will return the IT administrator to the location fromwhich he or she invoked the configuration manager 132.

FIG. 4 illustrates one method of visually tagging each setting 128 usingthe configuration manager 136 so that the IT administrator can know at aglance whether the setting 128 can inherit from a global setting, if itis currently inheriting its value, and/or if another setting 128 iscurrently inheriting from it. In this embodiment, these acts areperformed for each widget before the page is initially displayed. Atblock 402, the IT administrator requests the configuration manager 132to display the current configuration in the inheritance manager 136. Atblock 404, the configuration manager 132 determines whether or not eachsetting can be inherited. If the setting 128′ can not be inherited, theinheritance manager 136 indicates this condition using, for example, theinheritance indicator icon 204 shown in FIG. 2 b. If the setting 128 canbe inherited, the configuration manager 132 determines (at block 406)whether or not the setting 128′ is currently being inherited by or iscurrently inheriting from another setting 128. The configuration manager132 then connects (at block 408) those settings 128 using theconfiguration indicators 306 described with reference to FIGS. 3 a-3 bOne suitable way to determine and track the inheritance state for asetting 128 is to embed tags into a configuration file that contains thesetting 128. The tag in one such embodiment comprises an 2-bit number(i.e., an integer between 0-3), where ‘0’ indicates that the setting isnot able to inherit; ‘1’ indicates that the setting can inherit but isnot currently inheriting; ‘2’ indicates that the setting 128 iscurrently inheriting from a global setting or the like; and ‘3’indicates that a lower setting is currently inheriting from the currentsetting. At block 412, he configuration manager 132 determines if thereare any more settings to display and repeats blocks 404-410 ifnecessary.

FIG. 5 illustrates one method of managing the inheritance of a setting128 in more detail. At block 502, the IT administrator selects a displaywidget 134, which causes the configuration manger to open theinheritance manager 136. At block 504, the inheritance manager displaysthe layout of the setting 128 across every instance 126 of theapplication. At blocks 506-508, the inheritance manager 136 scans allthe configuration files for every instance 126 of the application tofind inheritance information for a selected setting 128. If theinheritance manager 136 finds an inheritance relationship, theinheritance manger 136 indicates the relationship (at block 512) using,for example, the inheritance indicators 306 described with reference toFIG. 3 b. If the inheritance manager 136 does not find an inheritancerelationship for the selected setting 128, it adds a displays a displaywidget 134 at block 510. Next, at block 514, the inheritance managerdisplays the selected field in the original control type. The originalcontrol type may be received from the user interface and/or operatingsystem that launched the inheritance manager 136. In one embodiment,this information is described and communicated using XML. This markeuplanguage is desirable because it allows widgets to be setup and renderedwithin a variety of applications. This, in turn, allows the presentinvention to present the inherited values to the administrator usingtheir familiar control type (i.e., complex table, graph, custom widget,check box, or simple edit box). However, other communication anddescription protocols, such as HypertText Markup Language (“HTML”), UserInterface Markup Language (“UIML”), XML User-interface Language (“XUL”),and other user interface markup languages, are also within the scope ofthe present invention. If it cannot be automatically detected, thedeveloper has the option of providing a custom control to input into theInheritance Manager.

FIG. 6 illustrates one method of modifying a setting 128 within theinheritance manager. In this embodiment, the IT administrator has theability to modify a value of any of the fields displayed in theinheritance manager 136 by selecting the associated display widget 134and then changing the setting in the resulting control 202. The setting128 will show up in its familiar format (i.e., table, edit box, checkbox) and will be updated directly from the inheritance manager 136. Onefeature and advantage of this embodiment is that there is no need forthe IT administrator to exit out of the configuration manager 132 andopen a new user interface window just to change a setting 128.Accordingly, at block 602, the IT administrator selects a propertywidget 304′ associated with the setting 128′ that he wants to modify.This action causes the inheritance manager 136 to display (at block 604)a display widget 134 containing a control 202 for the setting 128. Atblock 606, the IT administrator modifies this setting 128′ using thecontrol 202. At block 608, the inheritance manager 136 determineswhether the selected setting 128′ was previously inheriting from anothersetting 128. If so, at block 612, the inheritance manager 136 breaks theinheritance relationship from above because the setting 128′ was justoverridden and indicates the new relationship by deleting theinheritance indicators 306 (e.g. modifying a property indicates animplicit desire to change inheritance). Next, at block 614, theinheritance manager 136 highlights the property widgets 306 associatedwith any setting that inherit from the modified setting 128 and proceedsto block 614. At block 616, the inheritance manager 136 updates theaffected configuration files with the new inheritance settings (i.e.,the setting 128′ that was manually changed, the setting 128 from whichthe selected setting 128′ previously inherited, and the setting(s) 128that inherited from the selected setting 128′ and have now beenmodified).

FIGS. 7 a-7 c illustrate methods of modifying inheritance in thisembodiment. More specifically, FIG. 7 a illustrates one method ofmodifying modify inheritance through direct manipulation of inheritanceindicators 306. At block 702, the IT administrator selects aninheritance indicator 306 connecting two settings 128. At block 704, theinheritance manager 136 displays a context-sensitive ‘right-click’ menuto the IT administrator and receives a desired operation selection. Ifthe user requested a delete operation, the inheritance manager 136deletes the inheritance indicator 306 from the view (at block 706). Theconfiguration manager 132 then updates the affected configuration filesat block 712. If the IT administrator requested a change inheritanceoperation at block 704, the inheritance manager 136 (at block 708) waitsfor the IT administrator to identify a new setting 128″ and then (atblock 710) deletes the old inheritance indicator 306 and creates a newinheritance indicator 306 to the new setting 128″. Any setting(s) 128that are no longer inheriting from any of the selected settings 128′ canbe changed to a default value or can remain at their current value,which ever the IT administrator prefers.

FIG. 7 b illustrates one method of modifying inheritance by selectingdisplay widgets. At block 720, the IT administrator selects two settings128′. At block 722, the configuration manager 132 determines the currentinheritance state for the two selected settings 128′. If neither of thesettings 128′ is currently inheriting or being inherited, theinheritance manager 136 displays a context sensitive menu to the ITadministrator at block 724 asking which of the selected settings 128′should inherit and which should be inherited (e.g., ‘Instance003 inheritfrom Instance004’ or ‘Instance004 inherit from Instance003′). Next, atblock 728, the configuration manager 132 updates the configuration filesand the inheritance manager 136 creates a new inheritance indicator 306.If exactly one of the settings 128 selected at block 720 is beinginherited, the inheritance manger 136 automatically causes the‘non-inherited’ server to inherit from the ‘inheriting’ server (at block725). If both of the settings 128 selected at block 720 are currentlybeing inherited, the inheritance manager 136 does not create any newlinks and may display an error message (at block 726).

FIG. 7 c illustrates one method of deleting inheritance links. At block740, the user selects one or more inheritance indicators 306. At block742, the configuration manager 132 determines the current inheritancestate for every setting 128 interconnected by the selected inheritanceindicators 306′. Next, at block 744, the inheritance manager 136displays a context sensitive menu to the IT administrator containing anoption to ‘stop inheriting.2 After the IT administrator selects the stopinheriting option, (at block 746) the configuration manager 132 updatesthe configuration files for the settings to indicate the changedinheritance state and the inheritance manager 136 removes the selectedinheritance indicators 306′.

In all three methods illustrated in FIGS. 7 a-7 c, when the ITadministrator is done managing the inheritance of a particular setting128′, the configuration manager 136 will automatically apply the changesacross any instance(s) that inherit from the modified setting 128′. Theconfiguration manager 132 will then close and the IT administrator willbe returned to the initial place in the user interface from which he orshe came, with all of the settings 128 updated.

Referring again to FIG. 1, the computer systems 102 in this embodimentutilizes well known virtual addressing mechanisms that allow theprograms of the computer systems 102 to behave as if they only haveaccess to a large, single storage entity instead of access to multiple,smaller storage entities such as main memory 112 and DASD device 140.Therefore, while the operating systems 124, the configuration manager132, and the application program instances 126 are shown to reside inmain memory 112, those skilled in the art will recognize that theseitems are not necessarily all completely contained in main memory 112 atthe same time, and may even reside in the virtual memory of othercomputer systems coupled to the computer system 600.

The central processing units 110 may be any device capable of executingthe program instructions stored in main memory 112, and may beconstructed from one or more microprocessors and/or integrated circuits.When one of the computer systems 102 start up, the CPU 110 initiallyexecute the program instructions that make up the operating system 124,which manages the physical and logical resources of the computer system102. These resources include the central processing unit 110, the mainmemory 112, the mass storage interface 114, the display interface 115,the network interface 116, and the system bus 122. Further, althougheach computer system 102 is shown to with only a single processing unit110 and a single system bus 122, those skilled in the art willappreciate that the present invention may be practised using a computersystem 102 that has multiple processing units 110 and/or multiple systembuses 122. In addition, the interfaces 114, 115, 116, and 118 may eachinclude their own separate, fully programmed microprocessors, which maybe used to off-load compute-intensive processing from the mainprocessing units 110.

The display interface 115 is used to directly connect one or moredisplays 180 to the computer system 102. These displays 180 may benon-intelligent (i.e., dumb) terminals or fully programmableworkstations, and are used to allow IT administrators and users tocommunicate with computer system 102. Note, however, that while thedisplay interface 115 is provided to support communication with one ormore displays 180, the computer system 102 does not necessarily requirea display 180 because all needed interaction with users and otherprocesses may occur via network interface 116.

The communication medium 106 can be any device or system that allows thecomputer systems 102 to communicate with each other. The networkinterfaces 116, accordingly, can be any device that facilitates suchcommunication, regardless of whether the network connection is madeusing present-day analog and/or digital techniques or via somenetworking mechanism of the future. Suitable communication mediums 106include, but are not limited to, the Internet, intranets, cellulartransmission networks, wireless networks using the IEEE 802.11specification, and the like. Those skilled in the art will appreciatethat many different network protocols can be used to implement thecommunication medium 106. The Transmission Control Protocol/InternetProtocol (“TCP/IP”) is an example of a suitable network protocol forInternet communication.

The embodiment described with reference to FIGS. 1-7 generally uses aclient-server network architecture. These embodiments are desirablebecause the management computer systems 102 a can utilize the service ofthe managed computer systems 102 b without either computer system 102requiring knowledge of the working details about the other. However,those skilled in the art, will appreciate that other networkarchitectures are within the scope of the present invention. Examples ofother suitable network architectures include peer-to-peer architectures,grid architectures, and three-tier architectures.

One suitable management computer system 102 a is an eServer™ iSeries®computer running the OS/400® multitasking operating system, both ofwhich are produced by International Business Machines Corporation ofArmonk, N.Y. One suitable managed computer system 102 b is an eServer™Bladecenter computer running the Linux™ operating system. However, thoseskilled in the art will appreciate that the mechanisms and apparatus ofthe present invention apply equally to any computer system 102 andoperating system 124, regardless of whether the computer system 102 is acomplicated multi-user computing apparatus, a single workstation,embedded control system. The present invention applies and itsinheritance manager 136 may be used to manage any device capable ofprocessing information, including without limitation, pervasivecomputing devices, such as cellular telephones, personal digitalassistants (“PDA”), and the like.

Although the present invention has been described in detail withreference to certain examples thereof, it may be also embodied in otherspecific forms without departing from the essential spirit or attributesthereof. For example, those skilled in the art will appreciate that thepresent invention is capable of being distributed as a program productin a variety of forms, and applies equally regardless of the particulartype of signal bearing media used to actually carry out thedistribution. Examples of suitable signal bearing media include, but arenot limited to: (i) information permanently stored on non-writablestorage media (e.g., read-only memory devices within a computer such asCD-ROM disks readable by a CD-ROM drive); (ii) alterable informationstored on writable storage media (e.g., floppy disks within a diskettedrive, a CD-R disk, a CD-RW disk, or hard-disk drive); or (iii)information conveyed to a computer by a communications medium, such asthrough a computer or telephone network, including wirelesscommunications, and specifically includes information downloaded fromthe Internet and other networks. Such signal-bearing media, whencarrying computer-readable instructions that direct the functions of thepresent invention, represent embodiments of the present invention. Also,although the present invention was generally described as a stand-alonemanagement system, it may also be integrated in whole or in part intothe operating system 124 of the computer system 102, and may be may beused advantageously with converged user interfaces and/or inheterogeneous environments. In addition, although the present inventionhas been described with reference to managing individual settings 128,those skilled in the art will appreciate that IT administrators coulduse the configuration manager to manage groups of settingssimultaneously by, for example, using the control widgets to select aconfiguration file.

The present invention offers numerous advantages over conventionalcomputer management systems. For example, the those skilled in the artwill appreciate that the present invention and its inheritance manager136 is desirable because it provides the IT administrator with instantaccess to all instances of the same setting 128 in order to manage boththe setting and its inheritance properties. This, in turn, allows the ITadministrator to: (i) instantly see if a particular instance 126 of theapplication program is inheriting from another setting (global orotherwise); (ii) instantly edit the selected setting 128′; (ii) editfrom where the setting 128′ inherits its value; and (iv) edit what othersettings 128 inherits from the currently selected setting 128′. Thepresent invention and its control widgets 134 are also desirable becausethey allow the IT administrator to edit the selected setting 128′ in itsoriginal control, which allows for consistency and improves usability.That is, if the user interface normally displays the setting as part ofa list a drop down menu, the display widget 134 also shows the setting128′ as a drop-down menu. In addition, the present invention isdesirable because it can allows the IT administrator to easily determinefrom where a setting 128 inherits and easily link to that location.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the present invention maybe used to manage information other than application settings. Forexample, some embodiments may be used in conjunction with identitymanagement software, such as the Enterprise Identity Mapping (“EIM”)software described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/818064, filedMar. 21, 2001, which is herein incorporated by reference in itsentirety. In these embodiments, the configuration manager 132 could beused to show which enterprise identity a particular user profileinherits from, as well as creating relationships between a profile andan identity. Other embodiments may be used to manage intelligent agents.The configuration manager 132 in these embodiments could be used todisplay and manage the working relationship between agents (e.g., whichagents are controlling other agents, which agents are being controlled).

The accompanying figures and this description depicted and describedembodiments of the present invention, and features and componentsthereof. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that any particularprogram nomenclature used in this description was merely forconvenience, and thus the invention should not be limited to use solelyin any specific application identified and/or implied by suchnomenclature. Thus, for example, the routines executed to implement theembodiments of the invention, whether implemented as part of anoperating system or a specific application, component, program, module,object, or sequence of instructions could have been referred to as a“program”, “application”, “server”, or other meaningful nomenclature.Therefore, it is desired that the embodiments described herein beconsidered in all respects as illustrative, not restrictive, and thatreference be made to the appended claims for determining the scope ofthe invention.

1. A method for managing settings in a computer system, comprising:receiving a selection of a setting; determining an inheritance state forthe selected setting; displaying a graphical indication of theinheritance state of the selected setting.
 2. The method of claim 1,wherein the graphical indication of the inheritance state indicates atleast one state chosen from the group consisting of: the selectedsetting is inherited by another setting, the selected setting isinheriting from another setting, the selected setting is both inheritingfrom another setting and is being inherited by another setting, and theselected setting is not inheriting or being inherited.
 3. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the graphical indication of the inheritance stateindicates at least one state chosen from the group consisting of: theselected setting can inherit or be inherited, and the selected settingcannot inherit or be inherited.
 4. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising displaying a graphical indication of the inheritancerelationship between the selected setting and at least one relatedsetting.
 5. The method of claim 4, wherein the at least one relatedsetting comprises a setting that is not currently in an inheritancerelationship with the selected setting.
 6. The method of claim 4,wherein the graphical indication of the inheritance relationshipcomprises an inheritance indicator.
 7. The method of claim 4, furthercomprising: receiving a change inheritance relationship command; andchanging the inheritance relationship for the selected setting.
 8. Themethod of claim 7, further comprising determining whether changing theinheritance relationship for the selected setting will affect othersettings.
 9. The method of claim 1, further comprising displaying acurrent value for the selected setting.
 10. The method of claim 9,wherein the current value is displayed using a control type used by amanaged application for the selected setting.
 11. The method of claim 1,further comprising: receiving a change inheritance state command; andchanging the inheritance relationship for the selected setting.
 12. Themethod of claim 11, further comprising determining whether changing theinheritance relationship for the selected setting will affect othersettings.
 13. The method of claim 12, further comprising updating theother settings.
 14. A inheritance manager for an IT system, comprising:a control widget associated with a selected setting, the control widgetcomprising an inheritance state indication and a current value for theselected setting; and an inheritance relationship indicator thatindicates the inheritance relationship between the selected setting andat least one other setting.
 15. The inheritance manager of claim 14,further comprising a property widget associated with the at least oneother setting.
 16. The inheritance manager of claim 16, wherein theinheritance relationship indicator comprises a graphical connectorconnecting the control widget to the property widget.
 17. Theinheritance manager of claim 16, wherein the relative positions of thecontrol widget and the property widget indicate an inheritancerelationship between the selected setting and the at least one othersetting.
 18. The inheritance manager of claim 14, wherein control widgetdisplays the current value using a control type used by a managedapplication to display the selected setting.
 19. The inheritance managerof claim 14, wherein control widget displays the current value using acontrol type used by an operating system to display the selectedsetting.
 20. A computer program product, comprising: (a) a programconfigured to perform a method for managing settings in a computersystem, the method comprising: receiving a setting selection;determining an inheritance state for the selected setting; displaying agraphical indication of the inheritance state of the selected setting.(b) a signal bearing media bearing the program.
 21. The computer programproduct of claim 20, wherein the signal bearing media is chosen from thegroup consisting of: a non-writable storage media, a writable storagemedia, and a communications medium, such as through a computer ortelephone network.
 22. A method for managing instances of an applicationin an IT system, comprising: (a) launching an inheritance manager, theinheritance manager comprising: a control widget associated with aselected setting for one instance of an application, the control widgetcomprising an inheritance state indicator and a current value indicator;and an inheritance relationship indicator that indicates the inheritancerelationship between the selected setting and at least one othersetting; (b) selecting the control widget associated with a desiredsetting for an instance of the application; (c) modifying the currentvalue for the desired setting; and (d) modifying the inheritance statefor the desired setting.